Monster
by Nyan Nyan Soup
Summary: Part 4 of my Servamp Family AU. Lawless and World End's band is finally getting its big break in the form of a performance with world famous pianist, Licht Todoroki. The only problem is Licht wants to call off the performance once he decides he doesn't like the brothers, but Lawless is dead set on changing the angel's mind about them. [Title was changed from "I'm Not A Monster"]
1. Chapter 1

Title comes from the Big Bang song Monster. The rest of the fic has pretty much nothing to do with the song other than the constant use of the word monster and the line "I'm not a monster".

* * *

"No way, Guil! Seriously!?" World End shouted. He could barely contain his excitement and had to stand up so he could jump around a bit.

"Yep. I'm serious. You better be thanking me a million times for the rest of my life for this. It's rare for anyone to even get a chance to speak with his manager." Guildenstern explained.

"A-and we getta perform with him!? On stage!? Together!? Oh man! Guil you're the best manager a band could ask for!" Wor cheered.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm great, I know. Don't stop telling me though!" Guildenstern joked.

"This is our big break Bro! We're gonna be famous and it's thanks to the coattails of your idol!" Wor stared down at his big brother, Lawless, who had been frozen still ever since Guildenstern delivered the news.

Lawless just sat there, looking forward. A half grin on his face and a thousand mile stare. It all felt like a dream to him. A wonderful, magical, beautiful dream, but a dream nonetheless. It just didn't feel real. It was like all him and Wor had worked for was finally paying off. All he dreamed of as a kid was becoming reality. Sure, it was no play, or musical, or anything to do with theater, but music and theater go hand-in-hand, right?

And not only that, but Lawless's favorite pianist would be performing with him and World End. A beauty with the hands of a God. A master with a stare as cold as ice. A real angel among mortals.

 _Licht Jekylland Todoroki_

The eighteen-year-old child prodigy from Austria. Lawless owned every single album of his and listened to them constantly. He kept up with all of Licht's social media accounts, although he found out long ago that they aren't actually managed by Licht, but it still made him feel one step closer to getting to know Licht. He watched every single recording he could find on the internet of Licht's shows and recorded every time he's appeared on television. Unfortunately, Licht had never done interviews, nor said a word on camera. Lawless had no idea what Licht sounded like, nor what his personality may be like aside from how serious he was rumored to be. To actually come face to face with his idol was one thing, but to be one of the few people to ever perform with Licht was mind blowing. Suddenly something clicked in Lawless's mind.

"Say, haven't there only been, like, three people he's performed with? Why the heck does such a small time band like us get the opportunity?" Lawless questioned.

Guildenstern leaned back in his chair. "Aaah, that's a good question Lawless, my boy. I sweet talked his manager. I just mentioned in passing how much I like blondes with long hair and 'boom'. I immediately got a moment of his time."

"Ah! You and your old tricks Guil!" Wor pat Guildenstern on the back.

"That's great." Lawless said with a chuckle.

"You don't seem as excited as I thought you'd be Law." Guildenstern pointed out.

"Oh, I am. Really. It just… It hasn't set in yet." Lawless explained.

"Guil! Guil! When are we doin' this!?" Wor questioned.

"In two weeks. Part of the deal was that we set everything up for when he gets here. He'll only be here for five days and he leaves early the next day." Guildenstern stood and checked his phone for his schedule.

"We gotta practice best we can Law! We gotta impress Licht!" World End grabbed his elder brother's hands and jumped up and down.

"Oh crap! I got a meeting in an hour. Alright you guys can go." Guildenstern said.

"Let's go home and tell everyone!" Wor shouted as he pulled Lawless out of the recording room.

"Hey! And don't forget to come back on Thursday! You two need to practice that part we talked about!" Guildenstern shouted as the brothers left.

The two came home in time for dinner and while World End ate thirds, as usual, Lawless surprisingly didn't even finish what little food he got.

"Does the cat really have to be at dinner Ash?" The Mother asked.

"Ya." Ash replied, leaning down to pet Kuro as the cat ate from his bowl.

The Mother sighed and let her eldest brother be, knowing after numerous times that nothing would change.

"So what were you telling us earlier Wor?" All Of Love inquired.

"Oh yeah! Guil got us a gig with freakin' Licht Todoroki of all people! Law is, like, his number one fan! It's gonna be so cool! We're gonna be on stage with him and perform with him and it's totally gonna be our big break! Oh man Law! Hear me out here! What if we make a new song!?" World End proposed.

Lawless was silent for a moment and fiddled with his fork before putting it down. "Uuuh… I don't know about that. We only have two weeks and we're supposed to spend that time setting up. Plus it takes me longer than that to write lyrics. We don't really have that kinda time."

"Aaaww!" Wor whined.

"Well I'm sure you two will do great as always." Old Child encouraged.

After dinner Lawless went straight to his room, which everyone found odd but no one actually went to check on him. He sat on his bed for a moment and stared at his guitar. He wasn't sure if it just hadn't set in yet or if he skipped excitement completely and moved straight to nervousness. Maybe he was scared. After all, all his other favorite artists were dead by now. The only current person he liked was Licht.

Years and years ago he found a video from one of Licht's concerts when he was young. Ever since then he'd been completely enthralled by Licht's music. It created an emotion in Lawless that he couldn't name. One that made his heart beat faster and reminded him of what it felt like to be alive. Some of Licht's songs actually succeeded in making him cry. He couldn't explain why, it just happened. He'd read about that happening to other people who listen to his music. For that reason Licht was dubbed 'The Angel of Music'. It was rumored his mom started the angel theme.

Lawless laid back on his bed and stared at his ceiling fan. The idea of being in the same room as Licht was enough to make Lawless freak out. What if Licht didn't like him? Or thought his and World End's music wasn't good? If his own idol didn't like him… would he have the courage to keep making music?

"Maybe I shoulda stuck with acting…" Lawless muttered to himself.

On Thursday Lawless and Wor came into the studio to work on their weak points. They had to be perfect so they could impress Licht. By then Lawless had noticed all Licht's social media accounts had announced the performance. It was slowly setting in that it wasn't a dream after all. Guildenstern got working on booking the venue. He didn't cut any expense this time and got the biggest place in town. Although, considering the town itself was kind of small the place wasn't as impressive as one you'd find in a big name city. Saturday Guildenstern received a call from Licht's manager, Rosen Crantz. He was simply calling to confirm some small details. Sunday All Of Love and The Mother made a cake for the duo to celebrate. Wor ate most of it of course. Monday was spent practicing again and the two came home more tired than usual that day. It didn't help that Guildenstern needed them to come in everyday from then until the performance. Tuesday to Sunday was filled with the brothers running around the venue setting everything up, making errand runs for Guil, and advertising. It was already pretty late by the time they got home on Sunday night.

"Ugh! Since when did the talent hafta do all the hard work? Aren't we supposed to just play our music and get hoards of fans after us?" Wor whined as they entered the main room of the house.

On the couch was Sleepy Ash with Old Child in his lap and Kuro sleeping against his leg.

"Ash, remember when we stayed inside all day and were feared as monsters by the townspeople? I miss those days when we were decent normal immortals." Old Child complained.

"Hey! We are not monsters! We're just as normal as the rest of the town and thanks to all the fans we have in town, most people don't fear the Ash family anymore!" Lawless corrected as he sat down at the dining table.

"Aren't you guys idols or something anyway? Of course you're gonna have fans. That comes with the territory." Ash muttered.

"Idols!? Bro, we're not idols. We're a band! We play instruments. Idols just dance around and sing and look hot." Lawless said.

"Are you saying you don't look hot?" Ash questioned, eliciting a laugh from Old Child and World End.

"You know what I meant Ash!" Lawless shouted, getting fed up and looking away towards the kitchen.

"Honestly, not really." Sleepy Ash mumbled under his breath, which made Old Child chuckle again.

"Here man." Wor said as he slid a glass of milk in front of his elder brother.

"Thanks." Lawless picked it up and took a sip.

"So are we invited to the show?" Old Child asked.

"Oh crap, we totally didn't think about!" Wor shouted.

Lawless thought about it for a moment. If Licht met their siblings, he might think they were just as weird as all the others. Lawless wasn't really wasn't sure he wanted that.

"Yeaaahh… I don't know…" Lawless trailed off.

"Well count me out. I'd rather stay home and sleep." The eldest said.

"Ah, if Ash isn't going then I don't want to either." Old Child chimed in.

"You heard the five-year-old. We're not going." Ash announced. "And you should probably get to bed soon. It's getting late."

Ash stood, still holding Old Child and went to leave the room. Kuro woke up and jumped off the couch to follow Ash.

"Noooo! I do not want to go sleep! You can't make me Ash!" Old Child whined as he flailed his arms and legs.

"Nighty-night!" Wor said with a wave of his hand.

"You fool! Save me! I command you! I'm older than you! Assist me! I am not ready for bed time!" The second eldest practically screamed as Ash carried him up the stairs.

"I wish we had a bedtime." Wor said and sat down at the table.

"Dude. You can just go to sleep. No one needs to tell you to do that." Lawless took the last sip of his drink.

"Oh. Yeah. I should do that. You headin' up?" Wor asked as he stood.

"Yeah, I'll head to bed in a minute." Lawless said as Wor exited the room and headed up the stairs.

Lawless sighed and stared at his empty glass. Tomorrow. Tomorrow they'd head back to the venue to practice and at some point Licht would show up. He was going to meet _the_ Licht Jekylland Todoroki. With no idea of how it would go, Lawless felt too nervous to sleep. He trudged upstairs and past his own room to stop in front of Tsubaki's door. He held an ear up to the door, but didn't hear anything. He assumed Tsubaki was either out with that gang of his, or already asleep. He walked back to his own room.

Lawless changed into his pajamas and sat on his bed. He didn't really want to sleep yet, what with all the worrying he was doing. He walked over to his guitar and picked up. Lawless plucked a few of the strings without any real reason. The sound made him want to play more and he played the first few notes of the first song that popped in his head. Of course it just had to be one of Licht's songs. Lawless kept playing the song and started tapping his foot along with it. The thought crossed his mind that Licht might be impressed if he heard a song of his played on the guitar. Maybe that's what Lawless should do. He already knew how to play every song of the pianist's anyway.

His concentration broke when his door slammed open and Doubt Doubt stood in the doorway.

"Knock it off and go to sleep or I break it." He grumbled.

"Eep! K-kay!" Lawless said, gripping onto his guitar like his life depended on it.

Doubt walked away and shut the door behind him. Lawless sighed and placed his guitar on its stand. He walked back to his bed and laid down for a few hours until he finally fell asleep.

In the morning, Lawless and World End headed out to the venue after eating breakfast and impatiently waited at a table backstage for their manager to arrive. Lawless had his head on the table and Wor was beating the edge with his drum sticks.

"How come we gotta get here so early and Guil can roll in whenever he wants?" Law muttered into the table.

"You good man? You seem tired." Wor inquired, poking his brother's head with one of the drum sticks.

"I'm fine, I just didn't sleep long last night." Lawless mumbled.

"Heh. You're starting to sound like Ash." Wor stated.

Lawless threw his head up. "I do _not_ sound like Nyash! ...Besides, he can't help his sleeping issues. I think I'm just nervous." Lawless put his head back down and groaned.

"Hey, what are you two doing? You should be practicing. Chop chop boys." Guildenstern walked in and clapped his hands to get the brothers' attention.

"Finallyyyyy!" They both whined and stood up from the table.

The two brothers headed to the stage and Lawless grabbed his guitar, plugging into the amp.

"Remember, Licht is coming in about an hour. Your careers depend on his first impression of you, so you better impress him!" Guil announced, the emptiness of the auditorium making his voice echo.

The duo casually played a few random parts of several of their songs before deciding to play the entirety of their newest one that they'd been having trouble on. Half way in Lawless messed up and they stated over. At the same part Lawless fumbled a few notes and stopped playing.

"Still havin' trouble with that part Law?" Wor asked.

"No." Lawless lied.

They tried again one more time and finally Lawless made it passed the difficult part. They kept going with the song and made it close to the end when Lawless stumbled on one simple note and dropped his arms.

"Come on Lawless, really?" Guildenstern complained.

Wor stared at his brother with a worried expression.

Lawless glanced down at his guitar. He couldn't concentrate on the song, but wasn't sure why. Maybe it was stress. Maybe anxiety. Either way, he put his hands back on his guitar and just started playing. Not one of his and Wor's songs though, but one of Licht's. His favorite actually. When World End figured out what song Lawless was playing he smiled and hummed along while Guildenstern sighed and slumped in his chair.

"Do you hear that?" Licht asked.

"Hmm? Oh my, I do actually. Wonder what it is." Crantz inquired.

"It's my song." Licht whispered as he pushed open the door to the auditorium and walked down the aisle, Crantz following after him.

He stared up at Lawless, who had his eyes shut as he played. The second he saw the blond's face he froze. Licht scowled and clenched his fists in his hoodie pocket. To think that a song created by an angel was being played by some… some monster. He didn't need to know who this man was, Licht could already sense that Lawless wasn't normal the second he entered the room. Whatever he was, Lawless was a monster and a monster didn't deserve to listen to the music of an angel, let alone play it.

Lawless finished the song and opened his eyes. He looked down to see Licht staring up at him with his signature glare on his face. Lawless's eyes widened behind his glasses. There he was. Licht Jekylland Todoroki. Standing right in front of Lawless. He was better looking in real life. His piercing icy blue eyes stood out so much, even despite the distance between them. The wings on his backpack really made him look like the angel he was always referred to. To Lawless, even without a halo he was the most beautiful angel the blond had ever seen.

When Guildenstern realize Licht and his manager were standing there, he sprung right up and went to greet them. "O-oh excuse me I didn't hear you come in. I'm Guildenstern, Lawless and World End's manager. It's wonderful to meet you."

"Ah, yes. It's a pleasure to meet you too. Rosen Crantz, we spoke over the phone a few times." Crantz and Guil smiled and shook hands.

Wor jumped up and ran over to Lawless, who kept staring back at Licht. "Dude, there he is. Licht. Jekylland. Todoroki!"

Without breaking eye contact, Lawless placed his guitar down and hopped off the stage. He walked up to Licht and noticed the angel was just a tiny bit shorter than him despite physically being the same age. Up close Licht's features were more noticeable and Lawless couldn't help but blush slightly. He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't bring himself to actually say anything. Licht, on the other hand, continued to glare. It even looked like to Lawless that the angel was starting to look angrier and angrier.

Just as Lawless worked up enough courage to finally speak, Licht beat him to it. "There is no way in hell I'm sharing a stage with a monster."

And it was then that Lawless knew.

Licht Jekylland Todoroki… _was an asshole._


	2. Chapter 2

Please feel free to inform me of any errors you see, I try my best but some still slip by me anyway. Also if the chapter is formatted weird or anything else like that lemme know. This chapter has been a pain in the ass to post on all the sites I use.

"P-pardon me?" Lawless asked, trying to sound polite.

Licht glared for a moment before turning around and walking away. "We're going Crantz."

"Licht? What are you talking about?" Crantz questioned, watching the young man walk away.

Licht stopped and turned around. "I am not going to do a show with two monsters. I can tell what they are and I'm not putting up with it."

Crantz immediately pulled Licht aside and stood in front of him.

"Licht we talked out this. Whatever this sensing thing is that you always talk about, I've told you a million times and I'll tell you again, it's not real. They're just two normal people and there's nothing wrong with them. You have to stop doing this just because you don't like someone. It will start ruining your career." Crantz whispered.

"I'd rather have my career ruined if it means I can stay as far away as possible from those monsters!" Licht whispered yelled.

"Licht, I'm putting my foot down."

"Don't do this to me!"

"If you don't do this show-"

"Crantz, I'm serious!"

"-then I'm calling your parents."

"You wouldn't!"

Crantz pulled out his phone to prove a point. "You know I have your father on speed dial."

Licht froze and sighed in defeat. He absolutely did not want to have to explain the situation to his father. His mother may believe him, but his father never took the sensing thing seriously.

"Ugh… F-fine." Licht reluctantly said.

Lawless and Wor glanced at each other. They couldn't hear the conversation well, but were pretty sure Licht just got blackmailed. Crantz walked back with Licht straggling behind.

"My sincerest apologies. Everything is on as planned, yes?" Crantz asked.

"Oh, yeah! Yeah, don't worry about it. Dealing with young folk can be pretty tough." Guil said as he placed a hand on Wor's head and patted the younger band member.

Wor swatted at Guil's hand and fixed his hair as Lawless stifled a laugh. World End turned around to glare at his elder brother.

"Say, why don't you three get properly acquainted while me and Crantz here talk business?" Guildenstern suggested.

"Oh that sounds like a lovely idea! Right, Licht?" Crantz smiled at Licht, but they both knew what that look really meant.

Licht frowned and walked past the brothers, heading backstage. Lawless and Wor followed close behind the pianist. Backstage Lawless and Licht sat down at the table while Wor sat on it. Licht placed his head in his hand and stared off to the side. There was an awkward moment of silence between the three until out of nowhere they heard something squeak. Licht casually reached into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out a hedgehog, placing it on the table. The brothers stared at said hedgehog then glanced to Licht, waiting for an explanation as to how and why there was a hedgehog in his pocket.

"Sorry Hyde. Forgot I brought you with me." Licht said to the hedgehog as he rubbed a finger under its chin.

"What's with the freakin' hedgehog!?" Wor finally shouted.

Licht glared at World End. "His name is Hyde."

"Okaaay… Why the frick was Hyde in your pocket!?" Wor repeated.

"Because I take him everywhere with me! Got a problem with that!?" Licht shouted back.

That reminded Lawless of Sleepy Ash and the way he brought Kuro with him literally everywhere. If anyone messed with Kuro they were automatically on Ash's bad side. Maybe if Lawless was nice to Hyde, Licht would warm up to them.

"He's really cute." Lawless said.

Licht paused and looked up at him. "Of course he is."

'Okay, not sure if that worked…' Lawless thought.

"Got anything I can feed him?" Licht asked.

"Wor, go tell Guil the hedgehog needs something to eat!" Lawless immediately ordered his younger brother.

"Whaaat!? Why me?" Wor whined.

"'Cause I'm older and I said so! Go!" Lawless shouted.

Wor grumbled and walked off to find their manager. Licht and Lawless were left alone backstage with only a hedgehog and more awkward silence. Licht decided if he was going to have to perform with those monster, he might as well get to know them.

"I didn't catch your name." Licht said, keeping his gaze down at Hyde.

"I'm Lawless and World End is my little brother. Oh, and our manager is Guildenstern." Lawless replied.

Licht simply nodded his head and the awkward silence came back. Hyde squeaked a couple times and nuzzled against Licht's hand. An uncomfortable feeling began to surround Licht. It might have been familiar to him, but he definitely never got used to it.

"What are you?" Licht asked, rather bluntly.

"Eh? Uhh… I'm… I'm just a normal, average, eighteen years old. Just like you." Lawless covered.

"You and I both know that's a lie. Now answer my question. What. Are. You?" Licht pestered.

Lawless froze. There really was no way for him to get out of this one. It astounded him that, just like that, Licht could tell he wasn't human. Other than the people who lived in town for generations, no one actually knew what him and his siblings were. And most people didn't know what they looked like because they usually kept themselves locked up at home. They learned from past mistakes that mentioning they were apart of the Ash family would result in terrified looks, threats, and sometimes visits from C3. Of course, Licht already knew he was something other than human, so maybe it wouldn't elicit anything worse from Licht than what he's already said.

"...I'm… not really sure." Lawless said.

Truth be told, it wasn't really another lie. Not even Ash was entirely sure what they were, nor did C3, and it's not like their father ever gave them any answers. Licht stared at him, trying to figure out whether to believe Lawless or not.

"I know what you are."

"Heh. There's no way you know."

"You're a monster."

Lawless scowled at Licht. He really hated being called that.

"I"m not a monster." Lawless mumbled.

To Lawless, calling him or one of his siblings a monster meant you were calling his whole family monsters. That wasn't something Lawless would put up with.

"I can't believe a monster would like my music though. I guess an angel's music can reach even an irredeemable creature like you. But to think you took the time to learn how to play one of my songs and not even on a piano." Licht said, not really addressing it to Lawless.

"I know how to play all of them." Lawless mumbled again.

"That's a shame. If you were human I might actually be impressed by that." At that Lawless had enough.

The blond slammed his hands on the table and stood up. He pointed a finger at Licht, who seemed completely unfazed, and was about to go off on him when World End returned.

"Guil gave me a dollar to buy chips from that vending machine in the lobby and I totally didn't eat them without thinking about it and have to ask Guil for another dollar to buy more chips and repeat to myself not to eat them!" Wor shouted as he ran up to the two and put the bag on the table.

Lawless sighed and slumped down in the chair. Hyde walked up to the bag to sniff it and bit at it. He couldn't figure out why it smelled like food, yet he couldn't eat it.

"Wait, hedgehogs can eat chips right? If he can't, can I have 'em?" Wor inquired.

"Hyde's diet is usually a little more… gourmet, but it'll have to do." Licht said as he opened the bag and pulled out a chip.

Licht held out the chip and Hyde happily bit into it. He flailed his front legs out until Licht gave him another chip. Watching the hedgehog eat actually calmed Lawless down. Who knew such a cute little animal could do wonders for dealing with anger.

"Aw! Little guy reminds me of Kuro." Wor said.

"Eh, Kuro's not as friendly as this fella seems." Lawless noted.

"Who's Kuro?" Licht asked, handing Hyde another chip.

"Our big brother's cat. He's really lazy and sleeps a lot." Wor answered.

"You talkin' about Ash or the cat?" Lawless asked sarcastically.

Both brothers laughed and Licht just looked at them with a confused expression.

"There's more of you?" Licht questioned, sounding annoyed.

"Yeah! There's four older than us, Ash is the oldest, and two younger than us." World End explained.

The chip in Licht's hand snapped in half and Hyde walked closer to pick it up. Well, that certainly explained why Licht felt uneasy ever since his plane landed. With eight… things living in town at once, of course it was going to mess with his senses. Although, he was sure there was something much bigger he was sensing. Whether it had to do with Lawless and World End's siblings or not, he didn't know.

"Licht!" Crantz called out. "We need to go now!"

On the inside Licht sighed in relief. He was glad to finally get away from these monsters. He was pretty sure they wouldn't end up hurting him, but just being around them messed with his senses. Guildenstern and Crantz walked backstage as Licht stood and picked up Hyde off the table. On his way up, Hyde grabbed the chip bag and held the corner in his mouth.

"Awww! Does he have to leave so soon?" Wor whined.

"I'm afraid so. We have quite a bit of business to take care of after all." Crantz explained.

Licht walked past everyone and headed for the stairs.

"Oh my. Sorry about him, always in a rush. It was lovely to meet you both. Oh, and I apologize for his earlier behavior. It takes a bit for Licht to warm up to people." Crantz said.

"Ah, it's no problem." Lawless replied, unable to say how much Licht actually got on his nerves.

"Aren't we going!?" Licht shouted from the stage.

"Guess I should be off now as well. Don't want to keep him waiting." Crantz waved and began walking away.

Once they heard the pair leave into the lobby Guil put an arm around World End.

"Weeeeell? How'd it go?" He asked.

"He had a hedgehog in his pocket." Wor replied.

Guil stared at him in disbelief. "...Please tell me that's a euphemism."

"Nononono! He had an actual live _hedgehog_ in his pocket." Wor repeated.

"Okaaaay… So he's a bit eccentric. No big deal. At least it was nice to meet your idol, right Law?" Guil inquired.

Lawless was quiet. He was thinking over the entire event. From when Licht first spoke to when he last walked away. It never once actually hit Lawless that he got to be in the same room as someone he idolized. He finally heard Licht's voice, finally got to know his personality, finally got to see him in real life, and he called Lawless a monster the whole time. He couldn't think of any worse kind of rejection. The person you look up to most… hating your very existence. And it wasn't the first time he experienced such a thing.

"I guess." Lawless mumbled.

Lawless and World End went home shortly after Licht left. The ride back was surprisingly silent. When they got home Lawless immediately headed up the stairs and right to his room.

"Hey! Wor and Law are home!" Tsubaki exclaimed, walking into the hallway from the den.

"No one cares." Ash said from the main room.

"Hey Tsu." Wor replied as he entered the main room and headed towards the fridge. "Where's everyone else?"

He saw Ash sitting on the couch playing one of his usual games on the television, but no signs of anyone else.

"Sis is at work, Love had to babysit, Doubt is up in the library, and Old Child was getting grumpy so Ash had to make him take a nap. It was funny, you missed it." Tsubaki explained.

Wor grabbed one of his snacks from the fridge and sat at the dinner table. He heard the familiar sound of a bell and in came Kuro, stopping right at Wor's feet.

"Aaaash! Kuro wants my food!" He whined.

"So give it to him. Don't diss my cat man. If he wants the food then feed him." Ash said, still focused on his game.

Kuro put his front paws on Wor's leg and meowed at him.

"No! It's mine!" Wor yelled.

Kuro jumped up onto Wor's lap and Wor held his food above his head.

"Aah! Get him off me! Tsubaki help!" He practically screamed.

Tsubaki only laughed loudly at his elder brother's ridiculous reaction.

"Dude, just feed him and he'll leave you alone. He only wants your food anyway." Ash repeated.

"It's mine! I don't wanna! Come get him!" Wor kept yelling.

"He's the size of a kitten! Pick him up yourself!" Ash shouted, starting to get annoyed.

"Nnnnooooooo!" Wor screeched.

Above them in the library, Doubt Doubt was attempting to read one of his books, but couldn't concentrate as he could hear World End's screaming on the first floor. He sighed and gently closed the book. Sure, it wasn't late or anything, but it still wasn't appropriate to be screaming bloody murder for no reason. Doubt put the book down on the chair he was sitting in and got up to leave the room. As he turned the corner of the hallway and walked past the bedrooms, he heard another sound. It was very faint compared to the screaming, yelling, and laughing downstairs, but it still caught his attention. He took a few steps back and when it was the loudest he realized he was in front of Lawless's bedroom door.

Doubt Doubt hesitated for a moment. The sound coming from his younger brother's room came across as crying. It didn't seem like something Lawless would do, although he was known for being a bit more emotional than the others, well, not more than All Of Love. Doubt didn't think it was in his place to bother Lawless, but it didn't make sense. He and Wor just came back from practice and it was the day they were supposed to meet that piano guy. Maybe he didn't show. On a whim, Doubt knocked on the door and there was a long pause.

"Go away." Lawless mumbled. It was audible in his voice that he was holding back sobs so he could talk.

Doubt was silent for a moment, unsure if he should pry anymore than he already had.

"It's Doubt." He announced.

There was another pause and it lasted longer than the last. A single muffled whine drew the line for the elder and he opened the door, stepping into Lawless's room. He saw Lawless laying on his bed and clutching a pillow tightly to his chest, his glasses haphazardly fallen on the floor and his face half covered by the pillow. It was hard to see, but Law's eyes were somewhat puffy and red. His cheeks were wet from the tears that continued to stream down his face. He looked absolutely pitiful to Doubt.

Lawless dug his face further into his pillow. "Get out of my room." He grumbled.

"Why are you crying?" Doubt pestered, refusing to go anywhere.

"Leeeeeavvee!" Law shouted into the pillow and pulled his knees close to his body.

Doubt only shut the door behind him.

It was quiet again, except for the faint sound of Lawless's choked sobs.

"Please…" The blond begged.

"Why are you crying?" Doubt asked again.

Once again, another pause. Lawless's grip around the pillow tightened. His face felt hot from being pressed against the tear stained pillow and his chest started to hurt.

"L-L-L-Liiiiiiiicht!" Lawless cried out.

Doubt recognized that as the name of the piano guy and sat down on the edge of Lawless's bed.

"What happened?" Doubt Doubt questioned.

Lawless continued to cry for a few minutes until it turned into whining and eventually he was quiet for a moment. After coughing he loosened his grip on the pillow and it fell away from his face. Doubt noticed a somewhat blank look in the younger's red eyes.

"...He… he h-hates me…" Lawless said with no emotion.

"How do you know?" Doubt asked.

Tears started forming in Lawless's eyes and the choked sobbing began once more. "He-he-he… He called me a m-m-moooonster! He said I was ire-ired-d-d-deemable!"

Doubt started to see why Lawless was so upset. It wasn't the first time any of them had been called such names. Doubt knew all too well what it was like to hear those words thrown at himself. Although by now several of the siblings had gotten used to it. They still had their own ways of reacting though, but it wasn't anything new.

"I… I l-l-l-loooooked up to him sooo mmmmmuuch!" Lawless continued. "H-h-he's so t-t-talenteeeeed! And I admiiiree hiiiiimm! Hup! He's l-l-liiiiike a real a-a-an-hup-gel! But… he knows -hup- that IIIII'mmm j-j-j-just a m-m-m-monsteeerrrr! Hup!"

Lawless got hiccups and each one that interrupted him hurt his chest more than the last. He took a moment to catch his breath.

Doubt Doubt understood more clearly. Lawless was far more upset because he looked up to Licht. He got to meet his idol, only to more or less be treated like crap.

"...So what." Doubt mumbled.

Lawless glanced up towards his big brother. "H-huh? Hup!"

Doubt looked out the bedroom window. "So what if he calls you a monster… Just show him who you are, not who he says you are.

"Hup!" Lawless squeezed his pillow for a second and sat up, trying his best to wipe away all the tears on his face.

"Show him who I am... not who he says I am… Hup!" He whispered to himself.

Lawless forced a smile on his face to try and make himself feel better. "Ya' know Doubt, you can -hup- can actually be pretty helpful when you try."

Doubt Doubt's eyes widened underneath his paper bag. He was surprised at Law's kind words. The two of them rarely talked and when they did it wasn't usually a super positive conversation, but he was thankful to be able to help his brother feel better. He mumbled something practically inaudible.

"Hup! What was that Doubt?" Lawless wondered.

"Nothing," Doubt Doubt stood up. "I'm leaving." He quickly headed for the door, but froze when he felt his shoe step on something hard.

CRUNCH!

The two brothers looked at each other for a moment and Doubt Doubt glanced down at his feet.

"Was that my-"

"That was your glasses…"

"...Hup!"

The wind blew through Lawless's hair as he sat on the back of Wor's moped. They were on their way to the theater for another day of band practice, this time with Licht. Lawless was nervous about going back, especially since Licht's opinion of them probably hadn't changed overnight. He didn't want to keep being insulted like that. He didn't deserve to be treated like a freak. Whether he was one or not.

"Hey, Bro!" Wor shouted over the wind.

"Hm, yeah?" Law replied.

"Ya think Licht'll bring that hedgehog again? As weird as that was, it was really cute!" Wor said.

"Uh, yeah. I dunno." Lawless muttered.

Wor stopped abruptly at a red light. "Man, you're being too quiet lately! It's not like you."

"...Sorry Bro." Lawless muttered just loud enough to be heard over the other vehicles around them.

"Too quiet!" Wor yelled.

"Sorry!" Law shouted back at him, a bit annoyed.

"There we go, that'll do!" Wor sounded quite pleased and drove off as soon as the light turned green.

When the brothers arrived at the theater they entered the empty lobby expecting pretty much a repeat of yesterday, if not then hopefully something a little bit better. Unfortunately, it already seemed like that wouldn't be the case. A faint rattling could be heard in the auditorium and every so often a thud could be heard that was hard enough to feel throughout the building.

"Licht please!"

"Is he always like- Eeehh!"

THUD!

"Licht! What did I tell you earlier about- Aaaaah! Do _not_ throw that at me young man!"

World End and Lawless looked at each other with nervous expressions and both rushed through the doors leading into the auditorium. Inside they walked in on Guildenstern, Crantz, and Licht. Guil was crouched behind a row of seats with one seat, clearly torn off of another row, laying near him. Crantz was standing in the aisle with another ripped off seat not too far from him. He had his phone out and looked somewhat threatening, maybe… If there wasn't a chair wielding teenager in the room. Licht, on the other side of the room, had quite the terrifying glare on his face. He seemed a bit tired and his breathing was a little ragged. All three brought their attention to the brothers as they entered the room and Licht scowled at them. He turned and grabbed hold of another seat from a row where there were obviously several already missing. With some force he ripped it from the ground and flung it into the air. Neither brothers could tell specifically who the seat was aimed at, it seemed like Licht didn't particularly cared about which one got hit, as long as it was one of them. As it flew closer to them they could only stare in bewilderment that a human could even do such a thing. It soon became obvious the seat was honing in on Lawless more than World End and the younger scooted back as much as he could while Lawless braced for impact.

"Holy hel-" Lawless was cut off as the seat collided with his face and he was thrown backwards into the door, knocking him unconscious.

Lawless only saw white. He was fading in and out of consciousness, but couldn't see anything discernible within the vast white. Slowly, some of the white turned red and make a bumpy line in the middle of the white.

"Laaaawleeess."

"Lawless!"

A dark blurry figure appeared within the white and red. He could vaguely make out wings behind it. An angel. With jet black hair and beautiful blue eyes.

"Laaawless!"

He felt a sudden burning sensation to the side and then again on the other side. The white started to fade and he could make out more figures behind the angel.

"Don't slap him!"

"Wake up!"

There was the burning feeling once again.

"S-stooooop.." Lawless mumbled and reached a hand out, pressing it against something.

"Ack! Bro! That's my faaaace!"

Lawless's vision was finally returning to normal and he could see people gathered around him. Wor, Guil, Crantz, and… the angel? No, Licht.

"Eee! Eee! Eee!" Lawless looked down to see the hedgehog, Hyde, sitting on his chest.

"You alright now, Law?" Guildenstern questioned.

"Maybe I should slap him again for good measure." Licht raised a hand and Crantz immediately went to grab him by the wrist.

"No more slapping him!" Crantz shouted.

"Ugh, geez…" Lawless leaned forward and sat up. "Why does my head hurt like a bitch?"

"Licht threw a chair at you, remember? You out for like… a good solid ten minutes. We've been shaking you and yelling and the hedgehog even tried to bite you awake! Plus Licht slapped you a couple times." Wor explained.

Lawless recalled a seat being thrown at his face, but nothing about the impact. Lawless moved a hand to rub his face and when he pulled hand back it was almost fully covered in blood. He flinched and was utterly surprised to realize the red in his vision was actually his head bleeding.

"Oooh… Should we take him to the hospital? What if he has a concussion!? What if his brain is swelling and pressing against his skull and it kills him and Licht ends up a mur-"

"Relax!" Guildenstern cut off Crantz's panicking. "He'll be fine, just give him a few minutes.

"Ya! Law''ll be okie dokie in a jiffy! Stuff like this happens aaaall the time!" Wor smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"You get hit in the face with a chair a lot?" Licht wondered.

"Uh, well, it wouldn't be the first time. Ehehe." Lawless responded.

Licht picked up Hyde while Wor and Guil helped Lawless to his feet. As he stood, he felt dizzy for a moment but it quickly subsided.

"Are you sure he doesn't need to go to the hospital?" Crantz asked.

"Oh yeah, yeah. Trust me, I've seen both of them take way more than that." Guil answered. "Say, why don't we, oh I dunno, put this little incident behind us, get some repair work in here, and just move on like this never happened! Right boys?"

All three musicians glared at Guildenstern, but no one said anything.

"Perfect!" He immediately pushed them towards the backstage.

The three once again found themselves sitting in silence at the table backstage. Wor on top as Licht and Lawless sat in the chairs, and Hyde resting in Licht's lap. Lawless used his scarf to wipe off the blood from his hand and face. Licht glanced up at him to see the wound on Lawless's forehead. It was badly bruised, with his whole forehead looking black and blue. Even his cheeks were red from when Licht slapped him. Licht's eyes widened when he saw the injury quickly begin to fade and the cut where Lawless was bleeding from seemed to disappear right before him.

Lawless turned and glared at Licht. "Why were you throwing chairs in the first place!?"

"I was mad." Licht answered, looking away from Lawless and towards the curtain of the stage.

"You were mad… so you… threw chairs at our managers then us!?" World End questioned.

"Duh! Crantz made me come in early when I told him I wasn't going to so I got pissed and when we got here and I just started flinging chairs." Licht explained.

"Oh yeah, 'cause that makes a whole lotta sense!" Lawless shouted as he threw his arms in the air.

"You don't know me. You don't know what makes sense for me to do." Licht stated.

"I'd like to…" Lawless grumbled and crossed his arms, but neither of the other two caught what Lawless said.

Licht glanced at the blond again and noticed something was different about him compared to yesterday. "Didn't you… have glasses? Did they break when the chair hit you?"

"Huh?" Lawless remembered he didn't put glasses on that morning because he ran out of spares. "Oh. I'm not wearing them 'cause they broke yesterday."

"It's a funny story!" Wor began.

"Don't tell him!" Lawless shouted at Wor.

"Our third oldest brother stepped on them on accident and it was his last pair!" Wor said with a chuckle at the end.

"Mmmhnn… I'm gonna get another pair before we go home so I'll have 'em on tomorrow. Besides they complete my look, I don't look the right way without glasses on." Lawless had to admit he certainly was far more use to wearing glasses by now than not, he felt weird when he wasn't wearing them.

"They're part of your… look?" Licht questioned and raised an eyebrow.

"They most definitely are!" Wor got off the table and stood behind his brother to tug at his face. "He says they make him look 'bookish' or whatever the word was. Ya' know, with the scarf and vest and fancy bullshit like that."

"Staa-aa-aa! Stop! Stop! Stop! Pulling! On! My! Face!" Lawless yanked Wor's hands off of his face and fixed some of his hair that was messed up.

Licht just stared at the two of them like they were idiots.

In front of the stage, Guildenstern finally moved the last seat back to where it was torn from.

"Alright, I think they're in order. They're numbered, but I'm not entirely sure. Ugh, this'll certainly come out of our profits." Guil said to himself.

"I really must apologize for Licht's behavior. It's not the first time he's had an outburst like that, but it's still not acceptable." Crantz said.

"Oh nah, nah, nah, nah! It's fine. I've seen Law and Wor have their fair share of outbursts. More so with their other siblings actually. Especially the five-year-old and that youngest one." Guil rambled on.

"They have other sibli- Oh goodness!" As Crantz spoke, one of the broken seats started to fall over and the two managers scrambled to grab it before it hit the ground.

They both grabbed it before it fell back all the way to the ground. Guildenstern looked down to see Crantz's hand over his own. When he noticed, Crantz immediately pulled his hand away and took a step back.

"I… should go tell the boys to get ready." Crantz nervously walked off towards the stage.

"Uh, okay?" Guil replied as he watched the other scurry away.

Crantz stepped up to the stage and pulled the curtain back to where the three musicians were. They looked over at him and Licht placed Hyde inside the pocket of his hoodie before standing up.

"Okay, I think the chairs will be fine for now. Why don't you boys get ready to practice?" Crantz suggested.

They all gave their own variations of an agreement and walked past him to where their instruments were set up. A piano was set up on the stage a few days ago for Licht to use. It wasn't quite up to his standard of quality, but considering how high that was no other piano except his own personal one back home could reach that high of a standard. He was willing to settle with it though since he knew bringing his own piano was out of the question, especially with how long the flight was from Austria.

The three of them took their places with their instruments. Lawless was making sure his strings were tuned, Wor randomly beat on his drums to warm up his hands, and Licht stretched his fingers out and popped his knuckles. The auditorium was drowned out by the loud and nonsensical sounds of the brothers instruments, but was shortly joined by the serene sound of piano keys. At the same time Wor decided he was done with his warm up and Lawless froze when the sounds of the piano became clearer to him. Within the first few notes Lawless knew exactly what Licht was playing, it was the first song the pianist had ever written. He took his hands off of his guitar and it hung loosely by the shoulder strap. World End looked over at the other two musicians, Licht who had his eyes closed as he played the piano and Lawless who was standing there staring at the ground. He made a confused expression, but wasn't sure what he was actually confused about.

As the notes of Licht's song echoed in his ears, Lawless felt his hands move themselves back onto his guitar. In the middle of the angel's song Lawless lightly played his guitar along to it. Since he'd already memorized all the songs with his guitar it wasn't a hard feat at all, keeping up with Licht while playing quietly was however. As the song went on Lawless started getting caught up in the moment and was beginning to play louder.

Despite being so caught up in his piano playing Licht could still clearly hear Lawless playing along with his song. It aggravated him, not because someone else was playing while he was, but because Licht couldn't deny how _good_ the two of them sounded together. His brain was yelling at his hands to stop playing so he could properly hear Lawless's guitar, but he fought against it with sheer force of will and continued his song. Licht gritted his teeth and groaned at the thought of how perfect the synergy was between them and how beautiful the song sounded with a guitar complimenting it. Throughout the rest of the song Licht's anger only grew as he listened more and more to Lawless than himself. It finally threw him over the edge and his hands shook before he violently slammed them down on the keys. The loud roar of random notes made Lawless, along with everyone else, flinch and he pulled his hands away from his guitar. His own notes echoed until they slowly grew too quiet to hear.

"Oh Licht, that was going so well. It was beautiful." Crantz complimented despite sounding upset.

"It was crap." Licht aggressively lied.

Lawless stood in the middle of the stage, a hand gripping the neck of his guitar. He thought he was doing something good, but if Licht didn't like how his own song sounded then it must not have sounded good after all.

"Nah man, that was rad! You two make an awesome duo! I dunno how I'm s'posed to be apart of that." World End argued.

Licht turned and glared at Wor. The thought of him being in a duo with a monster almost made him sick to his stomach. He already wasn't feeling well thanks to being so close to the two brothers.

The auditorium fell silent and none of the three musicians bothered to keep practicing. The two managers shared a concerned look with each other before Crantz came up with an idea.

"Say, why not let your brother have a chance to practice on his own while you and Licht take a break?" He suggested to Lawless.

"Great idea! You could definitely use some extra practice, Wor." Guildenstern added.

"Hey!" Wor complained.

Without a word Licht stood up and walked to the edge of the stage. He jumped down and made his way to the entrance to leave. Lawless quickly put his guitar down and followed after the pianist.

"Maybe it'll be a calmer in here now." Guil believed.

"One, two, three, four!" Wor shouted as he tapped his drumsticks together and started playing one of his and Lawless's songs as loudly as he could, startling both managers.

"...Nevermind…" Guil grumbled.

Outside the venue Licht took a seat on the steps and placed Hyde down next to him. He took a deep breath of fresh air and sighed. Hyde jumped down each of the steps and joyously ran around in circles as Licht watched him with a rather bored expression. The young man glanced up from his pet and stared out past the parking lot. There was a decent amount of people walking by, but surprisingly few cars.

When he first arrived in the town it wasn't even by plane. The town was much too small and secluded to warrant the need for an airport so he and Crantz had to make a half hour drive from the closest metropolis. When they arrived Licht noted that the roads were rather small and the largest buildings were about the size of a moderate apartment complex. Even the downtown area wasn't much of a 'downtown', it was just where all the shops and places of entertainment were located. The whole town had a bit of an antique feel to it, like parts of it were frozen in time. Although at the same time there wasn't really anything in the town that could be considered too modern. In the end Licht felt it was just a rural town with a rustic feel to it. It wasn't like any of that bothered him though, the smaller the location the less likely he'd be hounded by fans. Although he believed the reason he got so caught up in thinking about it was because there was something about the small town that didn't feel right. Other than the dense, stuffy air that surrounded him thanks to being so close to what he considered monsters, there was also a constant feeling of being watched. Like the whole time he was in town everyone was staring at him with judgement when his back was turned, but the town did come across as being wary of outsiders to Licht, so he left it at that.

Across the street a hooded figure in a white jacket was leaning against the front of a building. Licht finally noticed the figure had been standing there for a long time. He recognized the white jacket from elsewhere around town and the best assumption he could come up with was that it was some kind of security group or neighborhood watch committee. The door to the lobby opened and Lawless stepped outside without a word. Licht watched as the hooded person immediately walked away down the street.

The blonde sat down on the other end of the steps and silently watched the hedgehog run around. Hyde scampered up to Lawless and sniffed at his shoe before trying to nibble on the edge of it. Lawless would've thought it was cute if Licht wasn't giving him an angry side glance. He reached over and gently ran a finger down Hyde's back to avoid getting poked by the spikes. Hyde let out some happy squeals and nudged his head closer to Lawless's hand.

"Get your monstrous hands off of Hyde." Licht demanded.

Lawless flinched and pulled his hand away from Hyde, who looked sad over the loss of affection.

"You don't need to be a dick about it." Lawless grumbled and looked away.

Licht glared at Lawless and tapped on the concrete to get Hyde's attention. The hedgehog gladly made his way over to Licht and hopped onto his owner's lap.

Lawless sighed. "Sorry for interrupting your song earlier and… sorry I made it sound bad."

"...It didn't sound bad." Licht admitted, staring down at Hyde.

Lawless looked over at Licht with wide eyes. "But… you said it sounded like crap."

"I know." Licht stated rather bluntly.

His words confused Lawless. The blonde couldn't tell if his original statement was a lie or Licht actually meant it didn't sound bad despite being crap. Then again maybe Licht was just messing with him.

"You know we're gonna have to play together for the show, right? Might as well get used to it." Lawless suggested.

"I can put up with it for the sake of a performance, but I will _not_ get used to it." Licht said.

"Man, how did you deal with the other people you collaborated with?" The blonde wondered.

"I didn't. I put up with them, just like I'm going to put up with you until this is over and I can go back home." Licht explained.

Lawless stared down at his feet for a moment before sighing and standing up. "Ya' know, I really looked up to you."

Licht looked up at Lawless, curious as to what the guitarist was getting at.

Lawless started slowly pacing back and forth in front of the concrete steps. "Classical's always been one of my favorite genres. I know it's not the one me and Wor make music for, but it's the only one that really makes my heart skip a beat… well, if it was beating in the first place that is. Anyway, classical's been around even longer than I have so I really appreciate all the old artists. Like Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Brahms. I could go on forever listing them off, but you… you were the only one I liked that wasn't dead. The only one whose music gave me that same exact feeling that the old ones did. I feel like… like your music made me feel alive again. And that's why I looked up to you."

Licht was silent, but he listened intently to what Lawless was saying. He had to admit it was nice hearing that his music could make someone feel that way.

Lawless continued. "When I found out I'd be working with you for an event, I didn't know how to feel. I couldn't believe it was real, yet I was overjoyed. I- I wanted to make you proud. I wanted you to hear me play your music and be happy and say you liked how well I played it, or some crap like that. I wanted… the only living guy I idolized to be proud of me… but after yesterday and everything that's happened so far today, I realized that you're just a jackass with a God complex."

Licht's eyes widened and he stood up, making Hyde jump off his lap. He stepped closer to Lawless and got up in his face. The blonde flinched and leaned back a bit, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks.

"I am an angel. I don't care what you thought of me beforehand, I won't tolerate a monster standing there and insulting me." Licht practically growled.

Lawless dropped his head and shouted. "See! This is exactly what I mean!" He looked back up with a stern expression on his face. "I really did view you as some kinda angel, but you're just like everyone else in this backwater town! You take one look at me and my family and you call us monsters! We were human once, we didn't ask for this… You have no idea how much it hurts to be stared at like a rabid animal…" Tears started welling up in Lawless's eyes. "...I make music because… because I want everyone here to know I have feelings and thoughts and emotions… I want people to like me, not be scared of me. Isn't that why… why everyone makes music? Isn't that why you make music?"

Licht took a step back. He couldn't believe Lawless's words were actually capable of getting to him. Why did he make music? His parents were musicians who made him play the piano as a child. He enjoyed playing music, in fact it was his passion, so he simply never questioned it. But what was he trying to convey with his music? What was he trying to tell people through it?

Licht looked at Lawless, who was wiping the tears out of his eyes with the nonbloody end of his scarf.

"I… I'm gonna go back inside." Lawless mumbled while staring at the ground.

The blonde trudged past Licht and went back inside the venue, leaving the pianist standing there alone. He dug his hands into his hoodie pocket and stared at nothing in particular. He felt something nudge against the back of his ankle and turned around to see Hyde grabbing at his boot. Licht bent down and picked up Hyde, who squeaked loudly at him.

"What's wrong?" Licht asked the small rodent.

"Eeeh! Eeeh!"

Licht noticed Hyde flailing his front paws, but couldn't understand what it meant. He sighed and rubbed the top of his pet's head. Hyde was happy to receive the affection, although it didn't do anything to ease his concerns.

Licht stayed outside on the steps for the rest of the day. He refused to go back inside even when Crantz came out to beg him. The whole time Hyde stayed in his lap and worried for his owner's sudden change in disposition. There was one thing stuck on Licht's mind for the entire time.

Why did he make music?

Sorry for it being almost a year since the first chapter was posted. I'm terrible at these things what with my severe procrastination problems and all. That's not important though. Anyway, I couldn't figure out how to end this chapter properly so this is what you get, its over twice as long as the first chapter so I had to end it sooner rather than later.

I can't make any promises on how long it'll be 'til the next chapter comes out, especially since I have other stuff I wanna finish writing first. I will try to not almost take an entire year this time though.

Sorry, I'm feeling really lazy right now, but I will say one thing: I like a crying Lawless.


End file.
